The former head of world cycling has denied a claim from Lance Armstrong that he helped cover up a positive drug test for the disgraced American cyclist.

Armstrong had claimed last month that in 1999, the year he won the first of his seven Tour de France titles, former International Cycling Union (UCI) boss Hein Verbruggen encouraged him to stay quiet over a positive test for a banned steroid.

According to the BBC, Verbruggen, who president of the UCI when Armstrong tested positive at the 1999 Tour de France, rejected the claims and said that Armstrong may be purposefully mixing up an adverse analytical finding, adding that there are about 3,000 adverse analytical findings per year from all sports.

Although Armstrong claimed that Verbruggen agreed to blame a backdated prescription for a steroid cream to treat saddle sores to help protect the sport's image, Verbruggen, a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said that the former cyclist was never positive because at that time it was an adverse analytical finding.

Verbruggen also said that the French ministry did not consider it a doping case despite the finding of some cortisones in Armstrong's sample as they realised that since Armstrong did not have the samples in his urine everyday, it had to come from an ointment.